If The Jacket Fits, Wear It!
by LilyTheNinjaGirl
Summary: It's fall in Paris and the days are getting shorter and colder. Ladybug is on patrol one blustery night and she forgot to bring a coat! She's freezing! Aren't ladybugs supposed to hibernate in the winter anyway? Chat Noir kindly offers a solution... But will she accept it? LadyNoir, Adrienette. Reveal. Oneshot. Rated K.


**If The Jacket Fits... Wear It**

By LilyTheNinjaGirl

It was a cold night that night. Over the past few months, the leaves had changed from a vibrant green to beautiful shades of orange and red. Now the leaves littered the streets of Paris, as each strong gust of wind snatched more from the tree branches. Ladybug was cold. As she leapt across the rooftops, the huge gusts of wind nearly knocked her yo-yo off course. She shivered.

" _Ladybugs are supposed to hibernate when it gets cold, not get blown away_!" she thought, rubbing her hands together in a desperate attempt to warm them before they became numb. " _Oh why couldn't I have grabbed a coat_?"

The aforementioned wind was merciless. It whipped against her face and stung her cheeks. Her hair had been let loose after a particularly nasty gust had pulled out her ribbons. Now, her dark curls flew wildy around her face, getting in her eyes. Finally, she reached the place where she and her partner, Chat Noir, normally met up at after patrol. She slumped down against an air vent. The big metal blockade helped slightly with her wind problem.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Now for the wait. She didn't have to wait long. After two minutes Chat vaulted onto the rooftop, landing elegantly on his feet (despite their many jokes about how he couldn't).

"Good evening, m'lady!" he called to her in a cheery voice.

"H-hey C-chat!" Ladybug greeted, teeth chattering. "All q-q-quiet on y-your s-side?"

"Are you okay, Bugaboo?" Chat asked, ignoring the question.

"I'm f-f-fine kitty, j-just a little cold is all," she admitted, standing up. The moment Chat Noir could see her properly, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Her hair fell down around her face, the tips just barely brushing her shoulders. It curled wildly, and the wind sent it flying. Her bangs were brushed back a little more than usual.

"Chaaaaaat! Hey Chaaat? Earth to kitty?" Ladybug's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He gaped.

"Your hair!" was all he managed to say as he reached out and brushed a loose strand back behind her ear. Ladybug smiled, but pushed his hand back down.

"The w-wind made my ribbons c-c-come out," she said, shrugging. "S-sorry if it l-looks b-b-bad."

"Bad? Ladybug it's gorgeous!" he exclaimed on impulse. She rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you should wear it like this more often!"

"Y-y-you think?" she asked, bringing a hand up to touch her hair.

"I'm paw-sitive!" he answered, winking. He received a half-hearted groan in response to the pun.

"S-s-seriously, w-was everything a-alright?" she asked again. Chat nodded, turning his head to the side so that Ladybug wouldn't see his small frown. All work and no play with her. "Ok-k-kay, then w-we c-can call it a d-day," she said. Chat reached out and touched her shoulder.

"Ladybug, you're freezing!" he exclaimed. She shrugged. "Will you be able to get home alright? How far away do you live?"

"Y-you know I c-c-can't t-tell you, k-kitty," Ladybug reprimanded him. Honestly, Chat could be such a mother hen sometimes.

"C'mon, you can tell me how far away it is! It's not like I can figure anything about your secret identity out! It could literally be any direction!" Chat pleaded.

"W-wow! A whole s-sentence w-w-without a p-pun! That's a r-record for you, Noir!" Ladybug brushed him off. Chat had this way of making her feel…. Well, flattered would be the best way to describe it. That he was so incredibly persistent. It would be cute if they were a couple, but they weren't.

"You're avoiding the question," Chat deadpanned. She looked up, directly into his emerald green eyes. They were filled with concern and caring. He wasn't even using this as an excuse to flirt. He really did care.

"Oh, about forty-five m-m-minutes," she chattered. "W-why? You c-c-can't walk m-me home."

"You'll freeze before you get there! Aren't ladybugs supposed to hibernate in the winter anyway?" he asked. Ladybug was impressed that he knew that.

"Y-yeah," she shrugged. "I'll j-just have t-to suffer through it." She pulled her yo-yo off of her hip, ready to disappear over the rooftops.

"Wait a mew-ment!" Chat insisted. She turned and watched as Chat began to unzip his jacket. She nearly took a step back before she noticed (to her relief) that he was wearing a black longed sleeved shirt underneath. "Take my jacket!"

"I c-couldn't Chaton. W-w-wouldn't y-you be c-cold?"

"I insist, m'lady. Cats are better suited for the winter than ladybugs," he said, bowing dramatically and offering her the jacket. She hesitated. The silly cat would probably use this as an excuse for the rest of her life, but good gosh was she cold! And he looked fine, standing confidently in front of her, seemingly warm enough. And here she was, a shivering mess.

Another string gust of wind that nearly blew them both off of the rooftop made up her mind. She reached out and accepted the jacket. Chat's eyes lit up. "Cat-cha later!" he called. He gave her his signature two-finger salute before disappearing into the night.

"Silly cat," Ladybug murmured. She shoved one arm into the coat sleeve, and then the other. She zipped it up. Since Chat was broad-shouldered, it was slightly looser than her spandex outfit, which made it comfortable yet not restrictive.

What surprised her the most was that the moment she zipped the jacket up, warmth spread around her torso and her arms. It was like someone had taken a heater and turned it on full blast in her direction. What was this jacket made of? The outside was leather, but the inside had a thin lining of some ridiculously soft fabric. It blocked the wind from chilling her to the bone. She could also stuff her hands into the pockets to warm them.

Her inner designer wanted to study the fabric and design further, but despite the amazing jacket, her legs and head were still cold. Ladybug headed home. It took her the good forty-five minutes she had promised Chat. When she jumped back through her window and detransformed, she was still wearing the jacket. She took it off, noting how the room suddenly seemed to get twenty degrees colder. She set it down on her dresser and Tikki immediately nestled herself inside of it. Marinette smiled before changing into her thick winter pajamas.

She walked back over to Tikki. "Hey Tikki, when Chat Noir detransforms, will his jacket disappear too?"

"No," Tikki giggled. "Because it was separated from Chat before detransformation and it's not a magical component like his baton or your yoyo. Why?"

"No reason," Marinette brushed it off. She shivered, despite the fact that the heat was turned all the way up in her house. " _Oh, what the heck_?" she decided. She grabbed the jacket and slipped it on. Warmth spread all over her again.

Marinette climbed into bed and snuggled down under the covers. For some reason, the jacket she was wearing not only kept her warm, but it made her feel safe and secure. It smelled like Chat, and she always felt safe with him. With that comforting thought, she drifted off to sleep.

###

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_ Her alarm clock blared into her ear. Marinette sleepily reached over and hit snooze without opening her eyes. She rolled back over and continued to snore. Tikki got up and flew over to Marinette, yanking on a strand of the girl's hair. "Marinette! You have to get up!" the kwami squeaked.

"Argh, what day is it?" Marinette groaned, rolling over.

"Monday," Tikki reminded her. Marinette sighed in response, forcing herself to leave the warmth of her bed. She stood up and unzipped Chat's jacket, laying it neatly on her bed. Then she went to get ready for the school day. She put on jeans and a long sleeve shirt, put her schoolbooks in her bag, and brushed her hair. She paused.

Any other day she would have tossed it into her signature pigtails, but today she hesitated. Marinette had never worn her hair down. She had always been really self-conscious about it. The only people who had ever seen with her hair down were her parents (but they had to say it was pretty, that was their job) and Alya (who said it was really cute but Alya said a lot of things, and she tended to over-exaggerate Marinette's good qualities). But Chat Noir…

Of course she had figured that Chat would tease her when her hair had come loose. But his face when he saw it… and if the silly cat with a mild crush on her liked it, maybe Adrien would too? So Marinette left the red ribbons lying on her bathroom counter. Keeping her hair down would keep her warmer, too. Speaking of which, she definitely needed a coat today.

She opened her closet and reached for her pink coat when she hesitated. Sure, her self-made, fashionable pink coat would keep her mildly warm in her freezing classroom, but Chat Noir's jacket would keep her really warm! Marinette shook her head. What would people say if she showed up at school wearing Chat's jacket? The way her classmates bombarded her with questions after the Evillustrator was bad enough!

Then again, plenty of people wore black coats and jackets in the winter! She could lie and say the jacket was hers… No one would notice. Only she spent enough time with Chat to recognize it. And it was sooooo warm! It made her feel all soft and cuddly on the inside. "Just wear it!" Tikki giggled, looking at the clock.

So Marinette slipped the jacket on, relished in its warmth, and made her way downstairs. Her parents didn't comment on it, partly because they were busy with the morning bakery rush, and partly because their daughter showed up with new self-designed clothes all the time. Marinette ate breakfast, kissed her parents goodbye, and headed to school. When she got there, Alya was leaning against the stairway railing outside, swiping away at her phone. She looked up as Marinette approached.

"Hey girl! Nice jacket," she called. Marinette smiled as they walked up the stairs together. "Have you ever worn that before? I swear I've seen it somewhere…. Where'd you get it?"

"Oh, I don't know. Some small department store. It was really cold and I needed a jacket. Plus, this thing is warmer than it looks," Marinette answered without batting an eyelash. Years of protecting her secret identity had made her a good liar.

"Hmm, which store? I swear I've seen it before!" Alya insisted.

"I don't know, some tiny place. I was in the other side of town making a delivery for the bakery when I got it."

Alya was about to say something else, but the bell ringing interrupted her. "Never mind, let's get to class." The girls ran down the remainder of the hallway, dashed up the steps, and slid into the classroom at the last second. They took their seats and opened their books. Marinette's heart fluttered as she watched Adrien take notes on the history lesson. For some reason, Adrien had a big grin on his face today. Happy that her crush was happy (and that for once she wasn't cold in class), Marinette settled down to take notes as well.

About halfway through class, Alya practically shoved a note into Marinette's face. Making sure that Madame Bustier wasn't watching, she picked it up and read it.

" _OMG GIRL YOU HAVE A_ _LOT_ _OF EXPLAINING TO DO_!"

Marinette looked over at her friend in confusion. Alya's eyes were lit up like they always were when she had a juicy piece of information, and that little smirk Marinette knew meant trouble. She hastily scribbled a response.

 _"_ _What do you mean?"_

 _"_ _You must be really dumb if you thought I wouldn't notice!"_

 _"_ _Hey, I'm not dumb! And notice what?"_

 _"_ _So did you run into him while you were making that 'delivery' yesterday?"_

 _"_ _Who? Adrien?"_

 _"_ _Seriously girl? Just admit it!"_

Marinette sighed. She couldn't play dumb forever. Alya had all sorts of mean reporter tricks. She was better than a bloodhound when it came to tracking down clues. Marinette wanted to smack herself. She had forgotten that since Alya spent so many hours staring at pictures and video footage of Ladybug and Chat Noir, she was bound to notice the jacket. Her mind racing frantically, she tried to play it as cool as she could.

 _"_ _I am so confused right now. What are you talking about?"_

 _"_ _Nice jacket :) !"_

Marinette panicked. There was no way she'd be able to throw Alya off! Her fingers frantically scribbled a reply before shoving it over to her friend. Only when Alya picked up the paper did she realize her mistake.

 _"_ _Thanks! I designed it myself!"_

The note arrived back at her side of the table. " _I thought that you 'bought' it at a little store across town?_ "

Marinette looked at Alya, knowing her face must be bright red. Alya had a huge smirk on her face. She lifted her phone up a bit to let Marinette see the image on the screen (stealthily hidden behind her history book, of course). It was a shaky picture of Chat Noir holding Marinette while stepping off of a riverboat. Marinette blushed slightly. The note reappeared in front of her.

 _"_ _You and I will_ _so_ _be having a discussion about this later!"_

Marinette gulped and hastily returned to taking notes.

###

Adrien woke up in a very good mood. He had given Plagg a whole extra block of Camembert (the kwami had squealed so loudly Adrien was afraid Natalie had heard) and he hummed as she prepared for school. Ladybug had taken his jacket! She was so cold that he would have forced her take it (Although if she had zipped away on her yoyo he wouldn't have been able to catch up easily). He knew it wasn't any sort of romantic gesture, but still, his lady had accepted the jacket. Normally she would push him away. Adrien counted that as progress.

At school, Nino had been stoked at his buddy's good mood, and the two boys had taken their seats while laughing and cracking jokes (and in Adrien's case, a few puns). They had been so lost in their discussion about the latest Star Wars movie that they hadn't noticed Alya and Marinette skid into the classroom at the last second. Then Madame Bustier called their attention to class.

All throughout the class period, Adrien could hear Alya and Marinette tittering and shuffling behind him. With his ability to persevere through very boring things and not get distracted, he managed to ignore them for a little while. Eventually, his curiosity got the better of him and he tilted his head slightly so that he could see Alya out of the corner of his eye. If he looked back any further to see Marinette, Madame Bustier would surely notice. Alya was showing Marinette something in her history book (although knowing Alya he wouldn't be surprised if she had her phone hidden behind it). He turned to face the front again and continued taking notes.

A stifled groan from directly behind him caught his attention. He couldn't stand the curiosity (darn you Plagg and cat-like personality that came with the powers) that resided in the back of his mind, like an itch that wouldn't go away. Deciding that he wouldn't get into any trouble is Madame Bustier saw him glance behind him (or at least nothing that would mar his perfect school record) he twisted around quickly to look at Marinette.

He nearly had a heart attack.

Marinette was wearing his jacket.

More accurately, Marinette was wearing Chat's jacket.

It all made sense now. It was like having horrible eyesight for all of your life, and everything was fuzzy and distorted. Finally, someone put a pair of glasses on your face and it all became crystal clear, and it looked glorious!

Marinette was Ladybug.

It was so obvious! He didn't know how he hadn't seen it before! Her eyes, her hair, her laugh! How Marinette showed leadership, dedication, and support to the things she stood for and the people she loved. Sure, she was a little clumsy, and she stuttered a bit around him, but they were clearly the same person! He felt a stupid grin spread across his face as he turned back around. He had finally found his lady! Suddenly, his face fell. She had wanted to keep their secret identities a secret! She was going to kill him!

Should he tell her? Should he keep it to himself and act like nothing happened? Would he even be able to do that? What if she found out that he knew her secret identity and he hadn't told her? Would she be even angrier? He spent the rest of class lost in a mental debate over his options. None of them sounded very appealing.

Adrien didn't even notice that the bell had rung until Nino shook his shoulder. He mutely picked up his stuff and shoved it inside of his bag before following Nino outside. They had about seven minutes until the bell for the next class rang, so they slowly made their way down the corridor. To Adrien's horror, Nino spotted Alya and Marinette and dragged him over to them.

"Hey Alya, Marinette!" Nino greeted. Alya looked up from her study of Marinette's jacket and returned the greeting warmly. Adrien's eyes met Marinette's.

"H-h-hey, Hot stu-I MEAN HEY ADRIEN! Isn't it… um, hot in here?" She winced. Normally Adrien would have brushed her stuttering to the side with a smooth, "Hello Marinette. It is pretty warm in here despite how cold it is outside!" but he found himself tongue-tied.

"N-nice jacket!" he managed to get out. He mentally kicked himself. What was he thinking?! He watched Marinette blush a shade of red that matched his own.

"Yeah Marinette, nice jacket!" Alya said in a very investigatory tone, putting her hands on her hips. Marinette averted her gaze to the floor. Nino just looked back and forth, confused.

"Am I missing something?" he asked.

"Something," Alya replied, smirking.

"Ooookaaay…" Nino turned to Adrien. "You understand any of this, dude?"

Adrien took a deep breath and made up his mind. "Do y-you mind t-talking about s-something?" he stuttered to Marinette. She blushed even harder and her mouth dropped open into an 'o' shape.

"S-sure!" the girl responded.

"Alone?" Adrien blushed as badly as Marinette. Alya's face, however, lit up.

"Nope! She wouldn't mind that at all! You two talk to your hearts' content!" Alya said enthusiastically, grabbing Nino by the wrist. "Let's go, Nino!" Adrien watched his friends' retreating forms nervously. He turned back to Marinette.

"So…" he started lamely.

"So…" she replied, scuffing her shoe on the ground. She looked up at him and her blue eyes sent him reeling. He took a deep breath.

"I-gave-you-my-jacket-last-night-and-I-never-thought-about-the-fact-that-you-might-wear-it-to-school, or-that-we-went-to-the-same-school-and-I-really-didn't-mean-to-figure-out-your-secret-identity-but-I-did-and-I'm-really-sorry!" he blurted out.

Marinette didn't respond immediately. She furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to make sense of his jumbled words. Then they rose as she started to make the connection. A gasp escaped her and her hands flew to her mouth. Adrien winced.

"I'm really, really, really sorry!" he re-apologized. Marinette looked up at him slowly.

"Chat?" she asked him in a weak voice.

"M'lady," he replied, looking down.

The two of them stood there awkwardly, each lost in his/her own thoughts. The silence was stifling. They vaguely registered the halls emptying and the bell ringing above their heads, Finally, Adrien spoke. "I told you we might know each other in real life."

He waited, ready for her to yell at him or walk away or something. He didn't expect Marinette to burst out laughing!

###

"I told you we might know each other in real life," Marinette heard Adrien say quietly. Her brain had practically exploded in her head. She understood everything now.

Adrien was Chat Noir.

Chat Noir was Adrien.

And he was standing in front of her fidgeting, completely awkward, and his face was as red as her Ladybug suit. His head was down and he looked like a poor kitten waiting to be yelled at. She did the first thing that her brain suggested. Marinette burst out laughing. Adrien just stood there, jaw dropping. Marinette doubled over laughing.

"M'la-I mean, Marinette?" Adrien asked tentatively.

"I'm s-sorry Adri…Adrien," she hiccupped a bit as she took a deep breath and calmed herself. Reality hit her like a load of bricks.

Adrien was Chat Noir. Adrien was Chat Noir! Adrien Agreste had been flirting with her for two years while wearing a skin-tight leather cat suit. She had been turning a blind eye to Chat's flirting because she was in love with… him? It made sense though. Total sense. Their personalities lined up perfectly. Adrien was certainly much bolder and more blatant while under the mask, but so was she.

And now her kitty cat was apologizing to her for the accidental reveal. He was staring at his feet right now. With a start, she realized that neither of them had said anything for several minutes. "Oh, um, sorry Adrien. I got kind of lost in thought," Marinette apologized. "I don't really know how to react to this."

"Me either," Adrien confessed. "But I do know I've been wanting to do this for a long time."

And then suddenly he was leaning in and she wasn't stopping him.

I'll let your imaginations take it from there.

 **A/N: Just a short oneshot that I wrote in one of my notebooks last fall! Finally** **typed it up and edited it for ya'll and I'm pleased by the outcome. I'm currently working on the next chapter of Escapades of Friendship, so be on the lookout for that! Also wasn't the Christmas special the BEST THING EVER? I can't wait for Season 2! :)**


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